– US government recommends changes to Google
The American government is suggesting that Google, convicted in early August for monopoly, modify its model and open its search engine to competition.
Published today at 06:18
A Google logo is seen during the “Made by Google” media event in Mountain View, California, on August 13, 2024. (Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP)
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Google must change its model and open its search engine to competition, the American government recommended on Tuesday before the sentencing of the group convicted in early August for monopoly.
In the thirty-page document sent to Washington federal judge Amit Mehta, the Department of Justice (DOJ) mentions possible “structural” changes, a term that many observers translate as a split.
The same magistrate found Google guilty of anti-competitive practices in the management and promotion of its famous search engine. The trial notably highlighted the staggering sums paid by the Alphabet subsidiary to ensure the exclusivity of Google Search with manufacturers of smartphones and internet browsers.
90% of the world market
According to the StatCounter website, in September Google accounted for 90% of the global online search market and even 94% for smartphones. The document released Tuesday is only a preliminary version of the recommendations that the DOJ will send to Judge Mehta in November.
This first version sets out a series of avenues for reform, including the obligation that Google would have to make accessible the data and programming models used to generate results via its search engine. The DOJ also plans to ask the magistrate to prohibit Google from using or retaining data that it refuses to share with third-party companies.
The US government is also suggesting the possibility of blocking the tech giant from using its Chrome browser, Google Play Store app store and Android mobile operating system to give its search engine an advantage.
“Splitting Chrome and Android would destroy them”
This limitation of interconnections between the different products of the Mountain View (California) group could involve “structural” changes, with the DOJ thus pointing in the direction of a breakup.
“Splitting Chrome and Android would destroy them and many other things,” Google reacted in a press release posted on its site. A forced separation “would change their business model, increase the cost of devices and undermine Android and Google Play in their competition with the iPhone and the App Store,” Apple’s application store, Google continues.
As for a possible sharing of research data and results with other internet players “would present a risk for the protection of your data and your security”, argues the Californian company. For Google, the US government’s recommendations “go well beyond the legal issues addressed in this case.”
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